Rabbit Thought of the Day

It’s nearly time to go already; the day seems to have flown by. I am trying to get stuff finished off quickly so I can disappear out of the day, well Thursday is shopping night, and I wouldn’t want to miss the fun of that. Tomorrow being Friday is dress down, plus the best thing about it, it only half day, yippee

The banks have cut the interest by 1.5%, the base rate now stands at 3% the lowest for 50 years. Let’s hope that this rate is passed on to us, the customers.

We have now arranged our visit to the project on the outskirts of Fraserburgh, our hotel is in Peterhead. Last week we fly to Aberdeen from Luton and got a hire car at the airport. Unfortunately we are unable to get a flight to Aberdeen so we have had to book flights from Stansted to Edinburgh and will have to drive from there, not the best option but am afraid it the only one available to us.

We are flying up on Monday afternoon and fly back on Wednesday afternoon. It seems like I will have to go the week after as well, perhaps I should get a frequent flier card. I have never really had to travel on business before it’s anew experience for me, but one I might be able to get used to, but would prefer to fly to somewhere warmer, like the Mediterranean though.

SAS commanders pleaded with defence officials not to be sent to Afghanistan in poorly protected Snatch Land Rovers following the deaths of four of their soldiers in a roadside bomb attack, it has been disclosed . The Special Forces soldiers "tore their hair out" at being allocated the flimsy vehicles after Cpl Sarah Bryant and three of her male colleagues were killed when their's was blown apart by a mine, Tory MP and former army officer Adam Holloway told a parliamentary inquiry.

His evidence intensified the pressure on defence minister Quentin Davies, who has faced fierce criticism for claiming at the weekend that SAS commanders had not been complaining about their equipment. On Saturday, The Daily Telegraph disclosed that senior SAS commander Major Sebastian Morley had resigned over the MoD's "gross negligence" in failing to provide an alternative to Snatch Land Rovers, which have now been linked to the deaths of 34 British soldiers.

Major Morley blamed the vehicles for the deaths of Cpl Bryant and her colleagues and said the lack of equipment was "cavalier at best, criminal at worst". He also told how SAS commanders had complained to the Ministry of Defence about their use. In attempting to rubbish his claims, Mr Davies said "100 per cent" of the troops he had spoken to in Afghanistan were happy with their kit. He also seemed to suggest that Major Morley may have a "wrong choice" in selecting Snatch for the mission that ended in Cpl Bryant's death - despite it being the only vehicle available.

However, Mr Holloway's evidence directly contradicted his claims and led senior military figures and opposition politicians to call on Mr Davies to "consider his position" . The minister has already been forced into a humiliating apology for rubbishing Major Morley's resignation claims and offending Cpl Bryant's father. Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said for Mr Davies to blame commanders in the field for Government failures was "grotesque, completely unacceptable and damaging to morale". The shadow defence minister Gerald Howarth added: "This is the second example in two days of commanders being denied equipment which they had requested. "Quentin Davies has been extraordinarily cavalier about the requests that commanders have made from the field. If he cannot fulfil the role of equipping them properly then he should consider his position."

Jacqui Smith is set to defy union opposition and announce that the first Britons will have to apply for compulsory identity cards from autumn next year. From Nov 25 this year, ID cards are compulsory for foreign nationals who come to Britain.

However, the Home Secretary will say in a speech to the Social Market Foundation today that compulsory ID cards for "airside" workers will be introduced at two of Britain's airports from next autumn. The plans will be phased in at Manchester and London City and then expanded to all airports after 18 months.

The cards will cost £30 each. Unions have fought the plans because they are concerned that their members will be used as "guinea pigs" for a national ID card scheme, which has been criticised by civil liberties groups.

An Australian court has ordered the retrial of two alleged drug traffickers because the judge in their original court case repeatedly fell asleep. "Periods of sleep became longer as the trial went on.

Members of the jury were visibly detracted and, at times, amused," the High Court said Thursday. Rafael Cesan and Ruben Mas Rivadavia were convicted in 2004 of importing ecstasy and jailed for over a decade each.

In their appeal, the judge in the original 17-day trial was described as sleeping at intervals of up to 20 minutes, with periodic snoring. "A substantial miscarriage of justice resulted," the court said, ordering a fresh trial. Medical evidence showed the judge had been suffering from severe obstructive sleep apnoea.

An Arizona jogger had an unwelcome companion on a recent run - a fox, hanging on to her arm by its teeth. The rabid animal had attacked her foot and then as she grabbed its neck, it bit her arm and would not let go.

She ran a mile to her car, where she managed to free herself, wrap the fox in a shirt and throw it in the boot. It later bit an animal control officer and both jogger and vet received anti-rabies injections, and the fox was confirmed as carrying the disease. The woman, from Chino Valley south of the Grand Canyon, had been running for a mile when she came across the fox in a clearing.

Although it did not initially appear aggressive, the animal attacked her feet as she backed away, before moving up towards her knee. When she grabbed the fox by the neck, it closed its jaws around her arm and would not let go, despite her attempts to choke it. Fearful that it was indeed rabid, she ran to her car and managed to free herself and trap the fox in the boot, before driving to a local medical centre.

A statement released by the local Yavapai County Sheriff's Office notes that "it is very difficult to prevent the attack of a wild rabid animal once in progress. "Although containing the animal for testing is beneficial, immediate treatment is always the priority."

Thursday morning and yet another busy day in the office, the only problem, I forgot my lunch. I made myself a nice little salad with smoked mackerel only to leave it in the kitchen, what a plonker I am. I do have a few cuppa soups in my desk draw, so it looks like that’s what I’ll be having for lunch.

It was another good drive in this morning and I even managed to avoid any confrontations with BMW X5 drivers, or any other drivers come to that. Last night was a bit of a nightmare though, I got caught up in traffic trying to get to a large firework display which slowed me down somewhat, thankfully that won’t happen tonight (I hope).